The New York State Department of Labor released preliminary local area unemployment rates for April 2020 on May 27. The unemployment rate in the Bronx was the highest of all City boroughs at 16.5% in April. This compares with a rate of 10.9% in Manhattan, 14.6% in Brooklyn, 16.4% in Queens, and 14.0% in Staten Island.

 

The current unemployment rates for all 62 counties in New York State can be found by clicking on the following link: County Unemployment Rates.

 

The rates are not yet seasonally adjusted, meaning they do not reflect seasonal influences e.g. holiday and summer hires. Therefore, the most valid comparisons with this type of data are year-to-year comparisons with the same month e.g. April 2019 versus April 2020.

 

Overall, the State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate more than tripled during the month of April, increasing from 4.1% to 14.5%.

 

In New York City, as a whole, the local area unemployment rate in April 2020 rose to 14.6% (not seasonally adjusted), compared to 3.7% for the same period in 2019.

 

 

The Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro area was one of the worst hit metro areas. Its unemployment rate for April 2020 is almost 5 times what it was in April 2019, rising to 19.2% (not seasonally adjusted), compared to a rate of 3.9% in April 2019.

 

 

Rates are calculated using methods prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The State’s area unemployment rates rely in part on the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month.

 

From April 2019 to April 2020, the State’s overall private sector employment count decreased by 1,834,800. In April 2020, the number of private sector jobs in the State was 6,467,600. The State’s private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers, which is conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

Labor force data for the current month are preliminary and subject to revision as more information becomes available.